George W. Bush

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A newly disclosed effort to keep Vice President Dick Cheney's visitor records secret is the latest White House push to make sure the public does not learn who has been meeting with top officials in the Bush administration.

According to Crooks and Liars.com, they've changed the rules so that they're directly responsible for visitors which prevents the Secret Service from having to publicize the lists when served with FOIA requests.

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I stumbled on this article today that really amused me. It's fantastically well written and biting on both Gonzales and the Bush administration, but it's very short. Here are some of the highlights:

The ultimate humiliation has now been inflicted on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the nation's demonstrably incompetent and intellectually corrupt chief law enforcement officer. Virtually all major Latino activist groups that vigorously supported his appointment have now declared their support of Gonzales null and void. ... This mass disaffection of Hispanics simply adds to the growing realization in Congress and the public that Gonzales is unfit ethically and intellectually to fulfill the oath of attorney general to be the people's lawyer, not the in-house mouthpiece for President Bush and his constitutionally dubious conduct.

And most importantly:

Nothing, absolutely nothing—not even the war—is more critical to the preservation of American government than restoring respect for law and for returning the Department of Justice to those with a profound regard for the Constitution. So too does the nation need legal professionals who understand the rights of citizens and who have the character to repudiate wrongdoing—even in the White House.

Soldiers

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People sure are quick to attack those they disagree with sometimes.

This may seem a vile accusation to lay against a grieving father. But in fact, it has become a staple of American political discourse, repeated endlessly by those keen to allow President Bush a free hand in waging his war. By encouraging "the terrorists," opponents of the Iraq conflict increase the risk to U.S. troops. Although the First Amendment protects antiwar critics from being tried for treason, it provides no protection for the hardly less serious charge of failing to support the troops -- today's civic equivalent of dereliction of duty.

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In what will hopefully end up with Gonzales fired or in jail and a trail of Bush cronies jumping ship leading to the big cheese himself, congress is finally starting to make noise about conflicts in Gonzales's testimony, questions about his fitness for the job, and most importantly, demanding that the details of the spying program come under proper review.

George W. Bush

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From ABC news:

He doesn't assail any Democrats by name. Bush, however, he names. Over and over. ... While Gore stops short of flatly calling for the impeachment of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, he certainly gives the impression that in his view such a move would be well deserved. He calls the president a lawbreaker, a liar and a man with the blood of thousands of innocent lives on his hands.

George W. Bush

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According to recent testimony, Bush's crony, Gonzales, tried to go over the head of acting Attorney General James Comey and coerce John Ashcroft who was deathly sick and in the hospital to re-authorize the spying program in 2004.

When the White House officials appeared minutes later, Mr. Gonzales began to explain to Mr. Ashcroft why they were there. Mr. Comey said Mr. Ashcroft rose weakly from his hospital bed, but in strong and unequivocal terms, refused to approve the eavesdropping program. “I was angry, ? Mr. Comey told the committee. “ I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me. I thought he had conducted himself in a way that demonstrated a strength I had never seen before, but still I thought it was improper. ?

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So the House has confirmed that FISA is the ONLY way that surveillance can be secretly done in the US. Um… duh?

Is there anyone that understands this whole mess? Bush breaks the law along with the Telecommunication companies. He gets away with it because no one seems willing to challenge him. He tries as hard as he can to get immunity for the Telco's too.

Congress has repeatedly rejected all attempts to circumvent FISA in new bills, but even if they HAD passed a new law, Bush is still guilty of violating the first one! I just don't get it.

DHL

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In a continuing effort by the Bush administration and the ridiculous Department of Homeland Security to make sure there's not a country left in this world that supports us, the DHS has suddenly abandoned talks with Canada about traveler pre-screening.

"It's unacceptable to say it can't be figured out," former U.S. ambassador Gordon Giffin said Thursday from Calgary. "The U.S. can't just throw up its hands. It's almost childish, like they're taking their marbles and going home," said Giffin, who served in Canada from 1997 to 2001. "It's just not productive. For Pete's sake, we're working with Canada. We're not working with some Third World country."

George W. Bush

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In what is hardly news, Bush again picks a poor choice for an important position. Michael Baroody, a high-ranking member of the National Association of Manufacturers, has been nomintated as chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (the agency responsible for reigning in manufacturers). What exactly is it about conflict of interest that Bush doesn't understand?

Well... that's not how this is supposed to work

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They're trying to get even more power and less oversight? And I thought this Mike guy was doing such a good job so far. Here's one that caught my eye:

Give telecommunications companies immunity from civil liability for their cooperation with Bush's terrorist surveillance program. Pending lawsuits against companies including Verizon and AT&T allege they violated privacy laws by giving phone records to the NSA for the program.